There's one thing that I don't get about this whole Larry Craig scandal in the states: why did he run for public office in the first place, especially as a republican?
I can, unfortunately, understand why a person, especially a person his age, might believe it's impossible to live an authentic and transparent life that includes having sex with people of the same sex. And I am aware that closeted gay people sometimes feel the need to put on a public appearance of being anti-gay. But why pick a career path that would require you to repeatedly publically assert your position on gay issues? Why not do something where you aren't in the public eye? Be an actuary or something? That way, when you're outed, instead of being someone who actively worked to make life more difficult for gay people, you're just some random guy who, worst case, turns into a bit of a loudmouth homophobic asshole when he's had a few drinks. I'm sure there wouldn't be nearly as much scandal about the bathroom sex thing if he hadn't been so loudly anti-gay.
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My educated guess: because he's completely disassociated. He may have sex with men, but he's not gay. Sex is "something he does" but it's not "who he is". Behaviour but not identity.
In his deeply closeted, disassociated mind, he can do anything he wants to, and gayness has nothing to do with it, because he's not gay.
It's a fairly common state of being, and not just about gayness.
Did you see Angels In America? The Roy Cohn character talks about that.
Haven't seen it at all. I see angels in the title, and assume it's not for me. I'll google it.
My ex's step-father was a City Manager and he used to go to highway rest areas to meet strange men for sex.
He knew he liked the dudes but for him it was ALL about appearances and what people thought of him.
Which might have led him to a smarmy field like politics in the first place.
I think Larry knows who he is and what he likes to do but he wants SO DESPERATELY to be whatever-it-is he thinks he's supposed to be that he can't stop trying to make people believe what even dogs can tell isn't true.
There's one thing that I don't get about this whole Larry Craig scandal in the states: why did he run for public office in the first place, especially as a republican?
One of the things I find interesting about Craig's case is the seeming refusal of gay rights advocates to defend/support him, I think mostly because he is a Republican.
I suspect if he had been a Democrat, there would be much more questioning of the police action against him and I doubt he would have been forced to resign.
I think it's kind of distasteful to flirt in the bathroom, but that's really all he did. You would think gay rights advocates would be appalled that such activity would lead to a legal case against him.
But most of them have been quiet, because Craig is a Republican. Seem like hypocrisy and intolerance to a left-leaning moderate like me.
I don't know if that's intolerance. I think you need to be somewhat more pro-active to actually be intolerant. Sitting back, giggling schadenfreudlichly, and going "bed, made, lie," (Oh, that is an awful pun) is more lack of initiative if anything.
I think it's possible to be passively intolerant. Like I said, I think Craig would get more defense and support from gay rights advocates if he was anything but a Republican. I think that makes them at least appear to be intolerant of his choice of political party.
I liked the pun. I am a fan of pun, though, and I enjoy almost all of them. Also, bonus points for schadenfreudlichly. I am also a fan of adverbs you don't see every day. :)
I'm not getting much US media, but from here it looks like it's not because he's a republican, but because he's been actively working towards anti-gay policies. Even though in the venn diagram the two groups do overlap greatly, I think there is a distinction.
I don't like schadenfreudlichly because I'm supposed to know how to form German adverbs, but I can't for the life of me remember.
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